GOLF / DINAH SHORE : McGann Throws Her Hat Into Contention

Michelle McGann made a fashion statement in the opening round of the Nabisco Dinah Shore golf tournament Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club.

She was wearing one of the 40 hats she says she owns, wide-brimmed with a gold band. McGann, 22, in only her fourth year on the LPGA tour, also made a statement on the course. She is only one shot behind veteran Dale Eggeling, the first-round leader.

Eggeling had a tee time of 7 a.m., and her round of five-under-par 67 held up on an overcast and mildly warm day in the desert.

McGann is tied for second place with Liselotte Neumann of Sweden at 68.

McGann missed a five-foot putt on the 18th green that would have tied her for the lead, but she said she was satisfied with her round.

She is playing in the Dinah Shore tournament, one of the four major events on the tour, for the first time, but the pressure didn’t seem to bother her.

Asked what score it would take to win the tournament, the 5-foot-11 McGann, still seeking her first victory on the tour, said: “Who am I to predict? I’ve never played here before. Hopefully, if I keep hitting it the way I am, I’ll be in the last group on Sunday.”

McGann is the longest hitter among the touring women, averaging 253.9 yards off the tee.

She said she enjoys shopping, but is restricted in the number of hats she can carry aboard a plane from her home in West Palm Beach, Fla. So she plans to acquire some more while she is here.

McGann’s father, Bucky, caddies for her and also counsels her. “He helps me in club selection if I ask him, and he helps me to read some putts and in my alignment,” she said. “He also helps me pick a target, and we work well together.”

Eggeling, 37, has only one tour victory in a career that began in 1976.

“I’ve got to forget it’s a major and just play my own game,” Eggeling said. “I love this course. You get rewarded for good shots and penalized for bad ones.”

Eggeling said she wasn’t concerned about distance and used a three-wood off the tee four times during her round.

“Right now, I feel I’m really having fun, enjoying the game,” she said. “It takes some of us longer than others to mature.”

Eggeling’s husband, Mike, is a former professional golfer.

“It has been kind of weird the last couple of months,” she said. “My husband hasn’t been on the road with me. He got here last night, and I’m OK now.”

Although 25 players had sub-par rounds, defending champion Amy Alcott struggled.

Alcott, who has won the tournament three times, shot a two-over-par 74.

“I played well, but I’m just not making any putts,” she said. “I should have shot a 70 or 71. What can I say?”

Alcott was one-under par on the front nine, but had a 39 on the back nine, including a bogey on the par-five 18th hole, where water borders the green.

“My second shot was only 105 yards from the green, but I had to lay up because I was in the rough,” she said.

Golf Notes

Michelle McGann said she doesn’t have an agent--or a hat sponsor. That might change if she continues to contend for the championship. . . . Dottie Mochrie shot a 69 and is alone in fourth place.

Brandie Burton, 20, one of the promising young players on the LPGA tour, shot a 70. She scored her first victory recently at Tucson and is second on the money-winning list. . . . Burton’s home is in nearby Rialto. “I was a little nervous playing in front of so many people I know,” she said. “I want to play well in front of them.”

Amy Alcott wasn’t the only prominent player who struggled. There are 10 former champions in the field, and Sally Little is the only one under par, at 71. . . . Nancy Lopez shot a 76, Pat Bradley a 73 and Betsy King and Juli Inkster each a 72.